METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was conducted on 162 breast cancer survivors from various breast cancer support groups in Malaysia. Psychological distress status was assessed based on depression and anxiety scores by applying the Malay version of Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7). Both instruments were self-administered along with a set of questionnaires comprising demographic, medical history, quality of life, and upper extremity function assessment. Outcomes from the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were analyzed for severity level of psychological distress, and its association with relevant variables, arm morbidity symptoms, as well as the duration of cancer survivorship.
RESULTS: The univariate analysis showed that breast cancer survivors with arm morbidities after breast surgery had a higher score of depression (5.0 vs 4.0, p = 0.011) and anxiety (3.0 vs 1.0, p = 0.026) than those who did not. Besides that, receiving fewer post-rehabilitation treatments (p = 0.049) and having a family history of cancer (p = 0.022) were correlated with higher anxiety level. The level of depression and anxiety was inversely proportionate with quality of life and positively correlated with greater disability of the arm function (p
METHODS: We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis. We fit bivariate random-effects models to assess diagnostic accuracy.
RESULTS: 16 742 participants (2097 major depression cases) from 54 studies were included. The correlation between PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 scores was 0.996 (95% confidence interval 0.996 to 0.996). The standard cutoff score of 10 for the PHQ-9 maximized sensitivity + specificity for the PHQ-8 among studies that used a semi-structured diagnostic interview reference standard (N = 27). At cutoff 10, the PHQ-8 was less sensitive by 0.02 (-0.06 to 0.00) and more specific by 0.01 (0.00 to 0.01) among those studies (N = 27), with similar results for studies that used other types of interviews (N = 27). For all 54 primary studies combined, across all cutoffs, the PHQ-8 was less sensitive than the PHQ-9 by 0.00 to 0.05 (0.03 at cutoff 10), and specificity was within 0.01 for all cutoffs (0.00 to 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS: PHQ-8 and PHQ-9 total scores were similar. Sensitivity may be minimally reduced with the PHQ-8, but specificity is similar.
OBJECTIVES: This article aims to explain paediatric cancer parents' information behaviour related to the care of their child.
METHODS: Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with fourteen Malaysian paediatric cancer parents and eight healthcare professionals who worked with paediatric cancer patients. Reflexivity and inductive approaches were used to interpret the data to identify meaningful themes and subthemes.
RESULTS: Three themes about how paediatric cancer parents interact with information emerged: Acquiring information, internalising information, and using information. Information may be actively sought or passively acquired. Cognitive and affective aspects influence how information is internalised into meaningful knowledge. Knowledge then leads to further action including further information gathering.
CONCLUSION: Paediatric cancer parents need health literacy support to meet their information needs. They require guidance in identifying and appraising suitable information resources. Development of suitable supporting materials is needed to facilitate parents' ability to comprehend information related to their child's cancer. Understanding parents' information behaviour could assist healthcare professionals in providing information support in the context of paediatric cancer.
METHODS: A user profile and topic list were established based on previous needs analysis studies. Content was developed for each identified topic. An expert panel assessed the content validity of both informational content and activity sections. Subsequently, the contents were presented via a learning management system to parents of children newly diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma. Parents evaluated the quality of e-HOPE using the Website Evaluation Questionnaire (WEQ) after an 8-week period.
RESULTS: The scale content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) achieved 0.996 for informational content and 0.991 for the activity section. Sixteen parents provided evaluations of e-HOPE after an 8-week usage period. Mean WEQ scores for various dimensions ranged from 4.23 for completeness to 4.88 for relevance.
CONCLUSIONS: E-HOPE was meticulously designed and developed to offer Malaysian parents a Malay-language resource complementing current caregiver education practices. It exhibited strong content validity and received positive user ratings for quality. Further assessment is warranted to evaluate its effectiveness in supporting parents of children with leukemia or lymphoma. The resource is anticipated to enhance information accessibility and support for Malaysian parents facing hematological cancers in their children.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.govNCT05455268.
METHOD: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was carried out among 162 oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy from July 2013 to February 2014 in a government hospital with oncology facilities in Malaysia. Participants were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. Chemotherapy counseling using the module on 'Managing Patients on Chemotherapy' by Pharmacists was delivered to the intervention group. The outcome measures were assessed at baseline, first follow-up and second follow-up and third follow-up post-intervention. Chi-square, independent samples t-test and two-way repeated measures ANOVA were conducted in the course of the data analyses.
RESULTS: In assessing the impact of the chemotherapy counseling module, the study revealed that the module along with repetitive counseling showed significant improvement of quality of life in the intervention group as compared to the control group with a large effect size in physical health (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.66), psychological (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.65), social relationships (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.30), and environment (p = 0.001, partial Ƞ2 = 0.67) and decrease in the anxiety (p = 0.000; partial Ƞ2 = 0.23), depression (p = 0.000; partial Ƞ2 = 0.40).
CONCLUSION: The module on 'Managing Patients on Chemotherapy' along with repetitive counseling by pharmacists has been shown to be effective in improving quality of life and decreasing anxiety and depression among oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: National Medical Research Register (NMRR) of Malaysia and given a registration number NMRR-12-1057-12,363 on 21 December 2012.
Methods: A randomized control trial study was run among 2120 cancer patients in public hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia, from Apr 2016-Jan 2018. The treatment group received counselling regarding chemotherapy by using developed module. The data were collected at three time-points: baseline, 1st, 2nd and 3rd follow-ups after counseling by Validated Malay version of the WHOQOL-BREF of questionnaire. Data analyses were done using χ2 and two-way repeated measure ANOVA.
Results: The treatment group improved significantly as compared to control group in physical health, psychological health, social relationship, environment and overall QOL (P<0.00).
Conclusion: The "Managing Patients on Chemotherapy" book along with repetitive counselling by pharmacists is a useful intervention for improving QOL of cancer patients undergoing treatment.